AuthorTopic: University/College (Read 246480 times)

So for most of North America, University is back in full swing(the rest of the world is following behind soon I think). For some of us this is the first year and some people aren't going back this year! Or you're not in your first year. I figure that right now we don't have a thread like this so it'll be a good place for assignment woes/etc. Obviously I mostly made this so me, and the other people who are just starting(uh... Ally?) can go,"ahhhhh what the fuck" a lot. But whatevs.

So I am asking, people in upper years, is it normal to feel like everything you do is really really shit, and basically be super disorganized and suck at everything the first little while? Do proffs expect this? Or is this a phenomenon that I am experiencing out of place.

(This thread might also be useful for breaking up some of the blog thread maybe?)

Well, as a second-year graduate student, I am trying to get my schedule sorted out to where I can do research at certain times, homework at other times, grading at other times and happy fun-times at other...um...times. So, the beginning of school disorganization never really went away for me.

Also, the especially when you are starting school, the professors give you a bit of an easy time. The first homework assignment is for the professors to get a feel for you and for you to get a feel for college. After all, at no other time in your schooling careers has the differences in quality/amount/focus of you and your peers' education been so pronounced. This results in professors not really being able to expect a certain degree of knowledge.

It's a lot of people's first time away from home, as well, and the system generally tries to accommodate that sort of thing. They try to ease you into the self-reliant people that you will need to be upon graduating. I ended up taking a couple of intro classes my senior year, and it was crazy how low the level of responsibility was compared to what had been expected of me in all of my other classes at the time, but had I never really noticed that much of a difference.

Finally, University/College tends to be different for everyone, because different Universities/Colleges work in different ways, plus your program of study will by and large shape your educational future. However, it's pretty universally an enjoyable experience, so get the most out of it, and use what your University/College has to offer.

In the UK (or at least at the various establishments I know of) the first year's marks don't count towards your degree mark precisely because they know you need time to adjust, all you have to do is pass. A very civilised system I always think, possibly because I scraped a pass myself the first year for one reason and another. After all, if you were already great at doing academic work when you arrived what would be the point in being an undergraduate? So do not overly concern yourself with the fact that you think your work is shit. It's supposed to be.

Personally, I'd like to use this thread to complain about being unable to afford to do a master's this year: fuck, I would much rather be ranting about culture than looking for a job. That was terribly therapeutic, thank you.

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Quote from: De_El

Next time, on QC Forums: someone embarrassingly reveals that they are a homophobe! Stay tuned to find out who!

ok. here's where you stop reading cause I'm about to let all my current problems bleed out onto the page (or comp screen or whatever):

tomorrow i've got my first Chemistry: Quantitative Analysis Lab, and I find out that there's a HUGE freaking pre-lab. Took my friend (who's quite smart) 1.5 hours to do it. I'll do it tomorrow after my first class if I can manage it.AND, the lab manual (which i just found out existed tonight) says we need to have a separate bound non-spiral notebook for the lab, and the only extra notebook I have is a spiral one. So I get to spend an exorbitant amount of money tomorrow on a marble notebook from teh school's bookstore (because I need to get it quickly to do the prelab and don't really have teh time to go to downtown and get a cheaper one) so I still end up with an extra unused notebook

And I'm also in a physics lab which inexplicitly requires the labs to be turned in 48 hours after the lab's performed, rather than a week later, so I've got that due tomorrow as well.

And then there's the thermo homework and the tons of reading on jihad I have to do for my History course.

And I'm excessively tired from fencing and trying to teach a bunch of new kids who want to learn how to fence, and I really need to sleep.

ARRRGH why? why? why? aaaaah what the fuck

And on top of all this I'm kinda pissed at my girlfriend right now, and I can't talk about it, and knowing how goddamn bipolar we both seem to be, she'll be all happy tomorrow and I won't be right in feeling pissed--and still be unable to talk about it--and then i'll have to be happy and everything'll continue to suck.

bound non-spiral notebook for the lab, and the only extra notebook I have is a spiral one.

Never understood this shit. It is a notebook. It has paper with lines on it that I can write on. Why does it matter what type of notebook it is? I have had so many teachers say they want a specific type but not give any damn reason on why they want that specific type and it is just stupid.

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Rizzla: Man... I'm only interested in girls who've had penises.Rizzla: FuckRizzla: I mean girls who have penises.

The most demanding class I took in my entire college career was in my first semester. That particular professor later told me that his freshman level classes are intentionally painful, because he wants students who can't handle it to fail.

I don't know if this is universal, but I would not be surprised if many professors create classes to screen out slackers. If college seems daunting, just do what you can, talk to professors about the things you can't, and it will all be okay. Showing concern and dedication will get you everywhere.

bound non-spiral notebook for the lab, and the only extra notebook I have is a spiral one.

Never understood this shit. It is a notebook. It has paper with lines on it that I can write on. Why does it matter what type of notebook it is? I have had so many teachers say they want a specific type but not give any damn reason on why they want that specific type and it is just stupid.

Many teachers/professors ask that students avoid spiral notebooks, because spirals tend to snag on each other. I know from stacking my personal notebooks, that spiral-bound books can create quite the mess, so I can fully understand why someone who has to grade all those notebooks would want to avoid them.

This only applies if you actually turn in the notebook, of course. If you tear out the pages before turning them in, then they have no reason to give a fuck.

You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

Maybe the teachers that actually collect your notebooks prefer certain types/makes because they have to stack them? Stacking or trying to carrying a bunch of different sized/shaped/bound notebooks is a huge pain in the ass because they don't fit together nicely.

In other news, I miss uni. I took a semester off to work full time and I miss it. It really breaks up my day and gives me a gazillion things to do and I love the stress. I work considerably better under pressure and I get bored when things are too easy and I have nothing to do. I don't go back until March, but I'm already looking forward to signing up for classes again. Also, I'll be doing full time uni and close enough to full time employment, all at once. Crazy? Probably.

Well I spent 5 years at university and now 3 years as a grad student, so I guess I'm as qualified as anyone to answer some of these!

Andy, you get a lot of leeway with your first year. Basically, don't fuck yourself over and fail any classes and you will be ok. Professors don't expect a lot from your first year! You're on your own for the first time and it is pretty much assumed that you will have trouble balancing your social life (read: getting drunk as fuck whenever you feel like it) and school work.

Never understood this shit. It is a notebook. It has paper with lines on it that I can write on. Why does it matter what type of notebook it is? I have had so many teachers say they want a specific type but not give any damn reason on why they want that specific type and it is just stupid.

This really comes down to making it easy for your TA's. Spiral notebooks tend to be larger than their bound counterparts. It's a huge pain in the ass to lug around all the notebooks for the sections you teach (I've had up to 60 at a time). Also, it is so much easier for pages to rip out of spiral notebooks, making it a nightmare to keep track of. I know they are more expensive, but the grief it saves your poor TA's (and trust me, they really deserve more pity than you realize) really is worth the extra few dollars.

Also, I'll be doing full time uni and close enough to full time employment, all at once. Crazy? Probably.

It's lucky you love stress! Geez, good luck!

I kind of miss uni too but I think what I actually miss is living at home for free and barely having to work-and also not really doing too much in the way of study- and as such having a lot of free time and disposable income on my hands to tool around and play drums and jack off and post on here. It was great!

Of course now I live out of home and if I went back to uni I would probably have to apply myself to my study in a pretty big way and also work a lot more to support myself so I do not think I would enjoy it as much. I guess what I am saying is being an adult sucks major wang. That is my lesson to all of you young people.

Remember, there is a difference between studying and beeing a student! Studying requires just one activity, beeing a student also means you go forth and do crazy things you later look back on with your ex-classmates during fancy reunions and go "remember when..." Make sure you can look back on your time as a student with a huge smile on your face!

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Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice.

(What I am saying is that I have an insane amount of work and the idea of doing anything except occasionally sleeping and working and school is really foreign already)

I feel the need to clarify a little about my school, it doesn't do frosh week, if I miss more than one class without an excuse I am withdrawn from the course unless I get a successful appeal, etc etc etc. I feel like what you guys are describing is not like my school :c

Not to be rubbing salt into the wound or anything, but I think that last semester I went to class a total of about 10 times for all my five classes I had. I'm tagging the line of a First, so it's not like I'm slacking off, I just don't do very well in a classroom. Personally I think mandatory classes are bullshit. The average person doesn't have a very long attention span (not 50 minutes at least), and making them spend their time in class when they're more productive otherwise is a waste of everyone's time.

I'm making myself a promise (hah!) this year that I'm going to be spending at least an hour in the library each day reading over the lecture notes for all my classes that day.

I have never been to college and I didn't do that spectacular in high school. But I really really enjoy history and I am smart at economics (I do not enjoy it as much as history). I can see myself being a History teacher, but I'd have to go to college. I currently don't have any money, but becoming a student would probably be a really good thing for me as I am feeling really aimless and I keep coming back to "go to school, do something with your life."Is there a place for History majors in the world, if I am not working at a museum? Should I be a teacher? I mean, I liked every single one of my history teachers because they were all super into the subject, and history is probably number 3 on my list of things I am passionate about. Internet, I leave it to you to give me advice on my current situation, should I try to get into college for the spring, seeing if I can get scholarships (unlikely), grants (unlikely), and/or student loans (likely)?

Addendum: I don't want to end up like my roommate or friends that I know, with a partial degree that they are now paying off the student loans for even though they never use it.

« Last Edit: 16 Sep 2009, 22:58 by Jace »

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Rizzla: Man... I'm only interested in girls who've had penises.Rizzla: FuckRizzla: I mean girls who have penises.

Andy, if it's an art school I'm assuming you don't sit in a lecture hall and listen to some old guy talk for four and a half hours straight. You're probably doing something productive. If not, then I am truly sorry.

First year doesn't matter in the least! Pass your courses and meet new people, that is all that really matters. Don't worry yourself because doing well is not important. The profs will either be harsh or extremely kind and understanding, but as long as you learn from the course your grade does not matter. Most important is meeting new people and trying new things, now is the time to learn things about yourself, and how can you do that without trying everything and seeing what you do and do not like? You won't know what you regret until you do it!

Do not let anyone tell you that you need to drink or have a good time or basically do anything apart from study at college, you will know if you have spare time to do this stuff by about the end of the first week. Depending on your work and study schedule, college could be 4 years of intense social isolation with brief spurts of wearing a toga and being spun around upside down on a hills-hoist, or it could basically be a 24 hour a day party with some books involved. Find out for yourself! Do not be afraid to party if the timing seems right but also do not think that university is a great excuse to get drunk and laid all the time because that is how dropouts are born.

Also do not be afraid to get to know people in your classes on the very first day you have them because otherwise you will not talk to them all semester and it will be even more awkward if you have another class with them later and try to introduce yourself then.

An art school, also, 50 minutes? That is a class? My classes are all 4 and a half hours long what the hell

Yeah, I go to art school too, and it's exactly like that. Also the attendance policy is almost as insanely strict, but we get to miss 3 class sessions before we're withdrawn from the course.

Basically you're probably going to feel overwhelmed for a lot of the first semester/quarter, and then things will kind of get into a groove and you'll be able to find time to not sleep/drink way too much.

Also do not be afraid to get to know people in your classes on the very first day you have them because otherwise you will not talk to them all semester and it will be even more awkward if you have another class with them later and try to introduce yourself then.

Very agreed. also, it is very good to make friends with people in your classes so you can have some study partners or homework help.

An art school, also, 50 minutes? That is a class? My classes are all 4 and a half hours long what the hell

Is your course actually run by the devil himself.

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"These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert to fleece the people, and now that they have got into a quarrel with themselves, we are called upon to appropriate the people's money to settle the quarrel." Lincoln in 1837

good teachers are something that have pretty much always been in demand and very likely always will be, although maybe in some places more than others. still, if you're okay with the possibility of moving, i say go for it.

An art school, also, 50 minutes? That is a class? My classes are all 4 and a half hours long what the hell

Is your course actually run by the devil himself.

To be fair note that art classes are often longer, because you're in the studio doing the work, rather than just listening to a lecture and doing all the work at home. Looking at the two schools I'm teaching for right now, Columbia College has unusually short classes for an art school, at 3 hours once a week (that could just be this department though; I have no idea what their painting or dance studio classes are like.) Meanwhile the other school I teach at, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, routinely has full-day studio classes (obviously there's a break for lunch in the middle.)

Incidentally, speaking from the teacher's perspective, while it is certainly a big drag that I'm tied down to a classroom longer than teachers in other disciplines, this is made up for by the considerably less work I have to do outside class grading and preparing exams and such (the same time trade-off students are making, really.) Considering that paperwork stuff like grading is my biggest weakness as a teacher, while my strengths are in the classroom communication, this trade-off works for me.

good teachers are something that have pretty much always been in demand and very likely always will be, although maybe in some places more than others. still, if you're okay with the possibility of moving, i say go for it.

See, I really like living in Arizona, but we have the worst education in the United States. The teachers don't actually teach kids to retain knowledge, they teach them how to take a standardized test. So, while I really don't want to move from AZ, I fear that I'd have to if I wanted to actually pursue a (successful) career in teaching. I guess I'll have some more concrete answers when I talk to my aunt, uncle, and cousin at the end of october. All three are teachers because they love teaching.

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Rizzla: Man... I'm only interested in girls who've had penises.Rizzla: FuckRizzla: I mean girls who have penises.

Jace, since NCLB you will find that any state you go to in the US is the exact same way. Right now there is no way to escape teaching towards standardized tests (unless you want to teach at alternative schools).

Also, I'll be doing full time uni and close enough to full time employment, all at once. Crazy? Probably.

My third and fourth year of school were completed while working pretty much full-time as a musician. Luckily, a lot of the practicing overlapped with my music degree. Once you get a schedule going, it's actually not too bad, and you're never bored.

Do not let anyone tell you that you need to drink or have a good time or basically do anything apart from study at college, you will know if you have spare time to do this stuff by about the end of the first week.

College is also a place to grow as a person, as well. So try to at least be sociable, and always keep in mind that "sociable" doesn't mean "alcoholic." It doesn't even mean there's alcohol involved at all. I'll temper this with, if you don't feel you can get your work done, do your work. People will either understand, or become drop-outs very quickly.

Also do not be afraid to get to know people in your classes on the very first day you have them because otherwise you will not talk to them all semester and it will be even more awkward if you have another class with them later and try to introduce yourself then.

You will also probably not survive without some sort of support group of friends. As awesome as college is, there is a lot of stress and sometimes it just gets too much.

To be fair note that art classes are often longer, because you're in the studio doing the work, rather than just listening to a lecture and doing all the work at home.

So, it's like mandatory "homework" time? Damn. I mean, I had rehearsals, but individual practice was to be done on my own time (once, my teacher was really pissed off that I hadn't put in enough work that week and just left, saying that I could practice if I wanted to, but he saw no reason to remain around).

Jace, since NCLB you will find that any state you go to in the US is the exact same way. Right now there is no way to escape teaching towards standardized tests (unless you want to teach at alternative schools).

Does "alternative schools" include private schools?

Find a private school or a Catholic school or something, Jace, and tell them that in your spare time you would like to observe because you are interested in teaching. If you explain the situation to most teachers, they will empathise with you! Most of them don't like it, either! And even in a place like a religious school, you will be able to observe methods and styles that work, even if you have to sort through the religious-oriented stuff. I know that at my middle school and high school (which was private), you probably wouldn't have to talk the principal into anything: he'd be all for it and do everything he could to set that up.

I guess I should have been less specific. You're right, private schools in general don't have to worry about that as much. Of course most privates schools actually manage to pay less than their public counterparts, so you should keep that in mind.

Also, Bassist, I have an RA so I'm really not that jealous. If you had told me that a year ago I would not have been so happy, but that was a year ago.

To be fair note that art classes are often longer, because you're in the studio doing the work, rather than just listening to a lecture and doing all the work at home.

So, it's like mandatory "homework" time? Damn. I mean, I had rehearsals, but individual practice was to be done on my own time (once, my teacher was really pissed off that I hadn't put in enough work that week and just left, saying that I could practice if I wanted to, but he saw no reason to remain around).

*shrug* I suppose that's what it means, yeah. Frankly, to really get good, say, as an animator takes a lot of practice outside of class too, so I guess people don't think too much about that whole conservatory atmosphere to classes. Also I've done that leave-because-the-students-aren't-working thing; it was some class where nobody had done the reading so it would have been a complete waste of time to try to have a discussion about an article nobody read.

Well, I'd ideally like to teach high school level since that is where I can really get into detail for the parts of history I enjoy (early to mid 20th century), whereas before that you have to do a broad brush stroke of Ancient Babylonian up to 1995 in a single school year.I think I'd be alright with teaching at a private school because it'd be less about the pay and more about teaching something I enjoy.

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Rizzla: Man... I'm only interested in girls who've had penises.Rizzla: FuckRizzla: I mean girls who have penises.

I guess I should have been less specific. You're right, private schools in general don't have to worry about that as much. Of course most privates schools actually manage to pay less than their public counterparts, so you should keep that in mind.

That depends. A teacher in a public school is pretty much guaranteed excellent health and dental (even in really low income areas). Some districts will also have pretty decent retirement packages. Job security varies greatly depending on state, and even by district. I believe that Arizona is one of the highest needs states in the country, so it wouldn't really matter for Jace.

Oh they need teachers but state legislature keeps cutting education funding. And so people don't want to be teachers because it looks like it could be a shaky career in Arizona so people go into the medical field or graphic design instead.

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Just one bit of advice, don't do teach for america....ever! Most of the teachers who do it wind up spending their first month crying in their classroom during their lunch break. It will make you hate yourself and teaching in general.

I just get irritated with all the kids going to other schools (or even mine) that are always partying and drinking and oh my god blah blah, WHERE DO YOU FIND THE TIME PEOPLE? When I am not studying or actually in class, I am sleeping like the dead because this shit is exhausting.

I agree that a balance is needed. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy, as they say. It is, however, possible to get your work done and still have some time left over. You just have to get into the swing of things a bit. I think it's a lot like working in a kitchen. Sure, you've got to do so many things at one time, but if you're adept at it, you actually look like you're breezing through and barely doing anything at all, whereas if you don't know what you're doing, you're going to be doing stuff constantly, and still be in the weeds. The only difference between the two tends to be experience. The more time you spend doing that stuff, the better you'll be at knowing when to start things, how to knock it out quickly, etc. So, keep at it and you'll find yourself in a great rhythm that'll allow you to have what's known as "free time," plus you won't fail out, which is important.

I'm in my last year of my B.sc. I'm very excited, but I'm terrified about grad school. I get to spend the next month working on my NSERC application and trying to find a grad school and a supervisor. My roommates are prepared to deal with a very cranky Katharine.

Also, I just spent almost 5 hours T.A.ing an Organic I lab, where they only had to do 3 distillations (2 simple, 1 fractional). If this trend continues, some students are going to get blinded by science. Science is represented by acid.

After {mumblemumble} years of not being in school (a failed attempt at a physics degree after going to university after high school), I'm back in junior college working for a technical certificate in Television Production. I'm going to look into the A.A., but only if they'd credit my previous general education classes.

So far, it's fun, the classes are stuff I really enjoy, and I'm much more motivated to get all I can out of each of them. Just showing up and doing the work should lead to good grades. 2 classes working on computers, one for video editing on Final Cut Pro, the other creating all those fancy intro and promotional graphics on Adobe After Effects. The third class is on how to shoot professional looking video and edit it into a polished final product.

It's really interesting observing the different attitudes among the other students. In the kinds of classes I'm in where there's a specific goal and reason for them being there, it's pretty good overall. If I was stuck in general education classes at this point, though, I'd probably be chewing my leg off to escape like many of the other students. It's not like I don't love learning about pretty much anything, during my first pass through it all, I absorbed all the info like a sponge, I was just bad at doing the work. I just don't see that I'd learn much new now.

Anyway, I might have some contributions and advice for this thread.

The only thing I can really think of to help alleviate the stress is this: The only employer (in your field) who will ever care about your grades (and which school you went to, maybe) is the FIRST one. After that, the simple fact you have a degree will be a distant 2nd place in importance to work experience.

I actually am Liking classes this year... but then again all my teachers are fucking kewl shit. Other than that i'm super busy working fulltime/school full time. I do have time to sleep on the weekends though.

I've recently applied for a postgraduate diploma at one of Sydney's really good unis. I'm really worried because I don't think I'm going to get in and if I don't get in this year it's unlikely I'm ever going to get in. I really hope I do because I honestly haven't ever considered the possibility of not becoming a psychologist and if I don't get in I really don't know what I'm going to do. Quietly freaking out until January when I find out, thinking about not getting accepted is actually kind of upsetting so I'm trying to put it out of my mind because I really don't need to just start crying.